If you go to http://www.prismaticpowders.com/ and filter on Blues, the "Illusion Lite Blue" looks really, really good. Particularly if your decals are white.

@socketz67 create a free account there. IIRC, it was $15 for them to mail you 15 samples. Pick out a bunch of colors so you can get swatches in your hands and see things for yourself.

 

That particular blue looks a lot like the Corvette in your profile, Socket.

 

I like Kawasaki green as well, as it brings back memories of motocross (although I had a Suzuki, always envied the Kaw green). Not sure it's my cup of tea for the calipers.

I like the blue-silver gunmetal:

 

Love that blue. When I was a teen and built models, I painted almost all of them that blue.

Testors Sapphire Blue Metal Flake:

 

And he has his old lady helping him screw up his car. Someone needs to hide his credit card.

So nobody is feeling gold calipers, red lettered “akebono”? Homage to classic Brembos on 1st gen G sport coupes (those brakes wore out quick) and WRXs back when they were cool?

Also, if I go the powder coat route, do the calipers need to be rebuilt? That looked like a huge labor of love you went through @Rochester .

 

Not really. But your car, man.


Yes. Probably. Seems unlikely to powdercoat while the pistons are in the calipers. But maybe if they were masked properly? IDK

"Rebuild" is kind of a big word for what you actually do, which is replace the seals, rings and boots. With hindsight it's not that big of a deal.

 

Thinking about this some more, and realizing that the calipers should get blasted to bare metal before powder coating, if you want a best-case scenario for the powder to adhere properly. And in that case, then yes, absolutely the calipers would have to be taken apart before blasting (bead, water, or laser). And by virtue of disassembling the calipers you would be rebuilding them.

You can PC over paint, but the paint has to be perfectly clean and able to withstand the high temps of the powdercoat process. So maybe if you were to PC over brand new calipers... sure, that could work. Although multiple layers of paint has a measurable thickness to it that could introduce other problems during reinstallation. Probably best to talk this over with your powder coater.

Now if you were to go the traditional paint route, then you don't need to rebuild anything, just paint them. Although it would be a lot more efficient and thorough to paint them off the car. Painting calipers while still on the car is a huge masking effort. And even then, you end up with a less than perfect job.

I know that you know I was going through all the exact same thought exercises over the years, just like you are now. So you also know I think it was worth it. Just imagine these here in a rich, metallic blue.

 

Just something to keep in mind, and was mentioned by my powder coat guy when doing my brakes.

The caliper will spend most of it's time in the shadow of the wheel/car so will naturally be darker and more muted in appearance. I thought he made a good point and this convinced me to go a few shades brighter to achieve the look I desired.

Also has Rochester mentioned the PC typically requires a full media blast to prep and my junkyard calipers needed it which was another reason for going to PC. After returning from PC I had to clean the threads of the mounting ears which wasn't ideal but I find the rebuild process cathartic and gave me a reason to tinker in the garage during the cooler months. Not wanting to thread jack just want to share my experience to know what to expect.









Darker appearance with the overhead lights off

 

My PC guy didn't do a very good job protecting the threaded brake line holes from the powder, and the install shop had to clean those out. Ended up costing me a lot more $$ in shop time as they figured out why fluid was leaking. Would have been so much better if he just used bolts in those holes. Or simply if I had the wherewithal to clean them out before the install. (sigh)

There was a similar issue with the unthreaded holes for the pins over the pad plates, but I caught that before dropping them off for installation and filed them out myself. The pins wouldn't have gone through the holes otherwise, that's how tight the fitment is.

Just saying... be aware of what aspects of the calipers need to not be coated.

 

Interesting as these should be best practices for any shop doing powder coating of calipers. Also. my apologies for not getting back to you guys on all the excellent feedback as I was slammed at work this week and also travelling. Travelling again next week as well.

As for the Powder Coat vs. paint by hand, I am fully in the powder coat camp now. My decision making process also goes through he same iterations as I start with what seems the simplest approach, then began peeling away layers of the onion to determine all the tradeoffs. I take way longer to make these types of non critical decisions, but for me the journey is often more satisfying than the destination. With that said, I found someone in NC that can perform the work (full media blast, PC with decals and shipping included - pick your color) for roughly $1000. Based on Rochester's caliper thread, this doesn't seem like a bad deal since so much time is involved. He doesn't advertise Nissan brakes anymore because he said that the Nissan guys wasted too much of his time haggling on price, where the German make owners just paid his advertised price.

But that leaves me in a quandary since I admittingly enjoy the journey, so why am I being lazy?

@FrogmanKouki Your workspace, calipers and tools all look insane! Like a poster I'd hang in my garage. I need to up my tool organization game. I also agree with you on the shadow effect of the wheel, which is why I didn't go in the metallic charcoal with red lettering I see on some of the more modern muscle cars.

@Rochester Based on this concept, I think the "Illusion Lite Blue" in your post would show up better and is alot closer to my favorite Corvette and model building color. Also, why do all the used G sport calipers on Ebay look like someone threw them out the window of a truck going 60 mph? Many have gouges in the metal. would sanding and bondo-ing these rough spots be covered under a basic Blast/PC service? $500-600 seems to be the going rate for a used set. My current ones look amazing compared to many of them I've found. Rebuild is eminent. I called CZP as they used to offer the service: https://conceptzperformance.com/czp-...BLvpeDsthBCjNI

And still sell the Centric or Akebono rebuild kits. The tech I spoke to said that the rebuild was completely a DIY. Gave me more confidence as I read through your caliper thread.

 

Well, yes, you'd think that too. I don't know what to tell you. I checked out 3 shops in person, and went with this one because they were the only Laser Blaster in the region. The price was good (in hindsight), and the powder was applied beautifully. But yeah, sucks they got powder in the brake line threads.


I knew you'd get there.


Think about the events: receipt, disassembly, blasting, prep and paint, maybe a top-coat, rebuild, reassembly and shipment. All that for $250 per caliper. In terms of time and materials spent, that seems very fair to me.


IDK man. That's between you and you. It's not lazy if you do the research, make the decisions, and follow through with your choices. That's the hobby.


YES!!! You need to do this. It would be beyond gorgeous.

Of course, if you do this then you might want to upgrade your rotors too. And your pads. And your brake lines.

 

I'd 100% concur on brake lines at the same time. Stick to the Z1 more expensive ones (with the brass blocks) since otherwise they're just flapping around in your wheel well.

Paint, IMHO, is fine for finding out if you actually like a color or not. Doesn't last though, even when done well - even ceramic brake dust is slightly caustic.

 

What are your collective thoughts on this color? It was recommended to me by the vendor I'm talking to after sharing some of the color discussion from this thread.

Ferrari Blue Corsa




He has been in business for 25 years and does mobile work where he paints the calipers while still connected to the brake lines. All while your car is sitting in the garage.

Here’s some pics from his process:

 

There's something about this blue that lacks the pop and metallic gloss of the other blue. It's not bad, but between the two I prefer the Illusion Blue powder. This Ferrari blue almost looks matte in these pics.

This shop that you're in contact with, are they local? He certainly has a solid process down pat, what with the whole-car masking, and the floor brackets supporting the calipers. That's pretty impressive, and if he's local that's a hard opportunity to pass, assuming the cost is acceptable. I suspect you've got some confidence that he'll do a good job, but at the end of the day it's still spray paint and not powder. Will it still look as good in another year or two or five? Probably not.

Dude, you're fickle.

 

Paint will only last for cars that are considered "garage queens." Those that sit there, look pretty, and rarely see the road. Not many people daily Ferrari's, Lambo's and the like. I cheaped out and painted the rotor hats and roughly 8-years/25k miles later they are as dull as hen's teeth. (As my car will, eventually, get re-painted I'll re-address the calipers/ rotors then).

If you're going through the time and expense stick to powder coat unless you're considering this car for shorter-term ownership. Then you can go the cheaper, less intensive route.

But kudos to the shop/ tech... It appears he knows his stuff and respects the cars he works on.

Just my 10¢...